Arts & Crafts: Page 26

If you're a habitual thrift store and consignment store shopper, then you know that every now and then you'll stumble upon a vintage necklace or ring that has one part that's sooo pretty, but the rest looks pretty tacky or too old. Give new life to the little bits of vintage jewelry you've collected by repurposing them into a brand new necklace.

If you're a baby boomer or at least older than 40, then you probably remember the Five and Dime stores around your neighborhood street corner. Carrying kitchy knick knacks like masks and cheap candies that even little kids could afford, they were quite the sensation in their day.

So you've done it. You've been wanting to have your own jewelry business since you were six, and you finally saved up enough money to purchase all the materials and are now making more moolah than you can count with your on-trend wire wrapped earrings. But how do you handle packing and shipping so many orders without going crazy?

If you enjoy creating vintage inspired jewelry, then there's no way you can get around not using brass stampings. Already infused with a rusty colored hue, they're very antique-looking and their colors can be altered. Check out this jewelry crafting video to learn how to color vintage flower brass stampings using materials including acrylic paint and resin.

Filigree beads add a touch of intricate whimsy to any jewelry project. But if you're using run-of-the-mill metal filigree parts of one uniform color each time, then you're probably making necklaces and earrings that are more blah than impressive.

Spring-loaded clothespins are used for more than just clothes. If you looked in anyone's home, you'll see these springy wooden clothespins used for things like chip clips, photo holders and even for attaching sports cards on bicycle spokes. They're even used in the film industry (called C47s or bullets) for clamping colored gels or diffusion to hot lights on set. So, there's a million uses for these wooden clamps, but that doesn't mean they have to look the same— drab and unoriginal.

Adding a patina to brass stampings is what gives it an aged, beautifully vintage look. If you've never worked with patinas before, then check out this jewelry crafting video to learn about how to use different types of patinas - including resin and acrylic paint - to make a flower you can attach to a pin to make into a brooch.

In this video, you'll be shown how to make Christmas crackers for the holidays. It's a cheap, easy and fun art project you can make with the kids. All you need is wrapping paper, some toilet paper tubes and glue and you're good to go!

Daddy doesn't have to be the only man in the house who wears a tie. Let your little one engage in some debonair "Mad Men" action by making this super easy stenciled necktie onesie.

Let's face it: Most of the buttons we have on clothing are utilitarian: They hold our peacoat together and our pants on (generally), and thus aren't particularly pretty in and of themselves.

What better to remember your Christmas joys than with a homemade scrapbook? In this video, you're shown how you can make yourself a lovely scrapbook with a few cheap art supplies. It'll make the perfect Christmas gift for a family member or friend.

You can make this lovely brooch out of some scrap felt, or any other stiff fabric in your basket (you can stiffen some fabrics by adding interfacing), and a large button. Attach it to a hat, coat or anywhere else you want to add a little holiday cheer to!

Don't spend a lot of money on gift wrapping this year! You can take a stack of plain brown paper bags and use inexpensive markers, paint and seasonal stencils to decorate them for the holiday season and turn them into decorative gift bags.

Much better for you than a regular candy cane! You will need some red and white yarn, a pipe cleaner and a size 'I' 5.5 milimeter crochet hook. This candy cane makes a great little gift, tree ornamnet or stocking stuffer!

Your New Year's party guests will swear these are the real thing and perhaps even pick one up to pour some Chardonnay in if you're not careful! This origami tutorial shows you how to fold realistic - and damn cute - martini glasses.

And you thought real earthworms were scary. This origami earthworm, which has segments that can bend and twist, is just as if not more icky than their living and breathing cousins.

Love folding origami? Then what better shape to fold for Christmas and the New Year than a star? A symbol of divinity as well as light and life during the dark days of winter, a star also makes great decor for Christmas trees and garlands.

Are you sitting in class the last day before holiday break, simply dying over how long each minute is before that last bell rings and you get to head to Big Bear? Pass the time (though obviously do so discretely) by crafting these simple origami t-shirts. Each t-shirt is folded from a monetary bill, which we're pretty sure you have in your pocket.

Sure, it's tiny, but it can still fly farther than many larger paper airplanes! This tutorial shows you how to make the world's smallest paper airplane out of some plain white paper and pair of scissors. You can get four airplanes out of one sheet of paper.